The mission of the Air Force is like a highly complex machine. Each piece of the machine is vital to it operating successfully. The E-9A Widget is a very small, yet highly important piece to that machine.

Arnold Engineering Development Complex engineers at the National Full Scale Aerodynamics Complex assisted in recent testing of sub-scale parachutes for the next mission of the Orion spacecraft, Exploration Mission-1.

The U.S. Air Force launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., during an operational test at 6:27 a.m. PDT, May 22. Col. Brent McArthur, the 30th Space Wing’s Vice Wing Commander, was the launch decision authority. The launch team, under the direction of the 576th Flight Test Squadron, included crew…

The Air Force Research Laboratory has found a winning strategy for solving real world problems facing the war fighter. Each year AFRL poses a clearly defined problem to several universities and service academies, challenging them to compete for a “best solution” based upon certain criteria including system weight, ruggedness, time to employ, effectiveness, cost and…

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki recently announced that the Department’s Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force will publish a comprehensive draft report in the Federal Register for public feedback and comment. The report describes how the Department of Veterans Affairs has been, and will continue to address the concerns of Veterans who deployed…

United Airlines announced May 21 a capacity purchase agreement for SkyWest Airlines, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc., to operate 40 Embraer 175 aircraft under the United Express brand. SkyWest,†Inc. will purchase the 40 76-seat aircraft with deliveries in 2014 and 2015. These aircraft are in addition to 30 Embraer 175 aircraft that United…

The U.S. Army awarded a contract to General Dynamics C4 Systems for 10 vehicle-mounted Tactical Ground Station Lot D systems with an option for 11 additional systems. The TGS system is part of the Distributed Common Ground System-Army, the Army’s primary deployed system for posting, processing and distributing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance† information in real…

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. -†The U.S. Navy has selected Northrop Grumman for the initial phase of the Solid State Laser Technology Maturation (SSL-TM) program. SSL-TM is a research and development project to mature solid-state, high-power laser weapon systems and components for ship defense. This selection is the first step in the development of a Prototype Laser…

Business Rolls-Royce wins engine order from U.S. lessor CIT Britain’s Rolls-Royce has won a contract to supply engines to power 23 Airbus aircraft ordered by U.S. leasing company CIT Aerospace, it said May 22. Boeing defense chief sees rising R&D, margins Boeing’s defense division expects to continue growing its research and development spending and operating…

Unclaimed veterans’ remains laid to rest in Calif. The unclaimed remains of 35 military veterans and two military wives have been given formal military burials in Northern California. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat says the remains, some left unclaimed for decades, were escorted by 120 motorcycles from Santa Rosa to the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery…

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NASA Image of the Day

Pushing the Boundaries of Propelling Deep Space Missions

Engineers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center are advancing the propulsion system that will propel the first ever mission to redirect an asteroid for astronauts to explore in the 2020s. NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission will test a number of new capabilities, like advanced Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP), needed for future astronaut expeditions into deep space, including to Mars.
The Hall thruster is part of an SEP system that uses 10 times less propellant than equivalent chemical rockets. In a recent test, engineers from Glenn and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, using a Glenn vacuum chamber to simulate the space environment, successfully tested a new, higher power Hall thruster design, which is more efficient and has longer life. “We proved that this thruster can process three times the power of previous designs and increase efficiency by 50 percent,” said Dan Herman, Electric Propulsion Subsystem lead.
Hall thrusters trap electrons in a magnetic field and use them to ionize the onboard propellant. The magnetic field also generates an electric field that accelerates the charged ions creating an exhaust plume of plasma that pushes the spacecraft forward. This method delivers cost-effective, safe and highly efficient in-space propulsion for long duration missions. In addition to propelling an asteroid mission, this new thruster could be used to send large amounts of cargo, habitats and other architectures in support of human missions to Mars.
Image Credit: NASA
Michelle M. Murphy (Wyle Information Systems, LLC) Read More

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